Supervisor and Activists Vent Over City Homeless Policies

Supervisor Daly introduced the hearing, setting the tone for what was to come by referring what he called a "disconnect" between the city agencies that run large scale homeless programs and the non-profit agencies that provide essential services, and between those city agencies and the community input that they solicit. He referred specifically to last week's meeting of the Local Homeless Council Coordinating Board, saying "When we have every committee member who is also a community member voting one way and every committee member that is a city staffer voting another way, you have a problem." He also said that shifting administration priorities must not be allowed to "cannibalize certain populations to care for others."

He then invited a dozen groups to bring their problems to the committee, though not before saying that a "culture of fear" pervaded the non profit service providers in the city because the city threatened reprisals, in the form of funding cuts or re-design, against groups that opposed city policy. Daly was quick to say that no one "in the box", that is none of the high level officials there, had anything to do with the problem, but said that several groups had been pressured at lower levels.

Over the course of the hearing several issues, which are probably familiar to regular Beyondchron readers, stood out. Supervisor Daly and members of the public discussed several programs in detail, including the disbursement of housing under Care Not Cash, the effectiveness of Project Homeless Connect, the Single Standard of mental health care and the distribution of federal funds. Many accused the high profile Care Not Cash and Project Homeless Connect initiatives of drawing money, program spaces and fickle public attention from existing programs and others criticized the "housing first" model for pulling federal funds McKinney funds away from services.

Emily Hirio, of the Women's Community Clinic, said that "At its core Project Homeless Connect is about creating a political buzz for the mayor," claiming that only 2% of 1,000 attendees at the last event were placed in housing, and adding that "Neighborhood drop-in centers do Project Homeless Connect every day." Several homeless or formerly homeless people complained of losing their GA benefits after enrolling in Care Not Cash, then languishing in shelters while waiting for a promised hotel room. Though a seemingly endless parade of group leaders and individuals stepped up to the podium, Shelley Reater of St. Boniface Church summed it up by saying that the number of people showing up at her doorstep, at "a safety net for the safety net," suggested that something was still seriously wrong.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty broke in several times, saying that high profile programs like Project Homeless Connect and Care-not-Cash might help to engage residents who are unfamiliar with the city's wider homeless programs or live in neighborhoods relatively unaffected by homelessness. He said that such programs might prove necessary to selling large scale funding measures to the city at large, saying "Where we can get a housing bond passed is where people are wanting us to succeed." Although he acknowledged that "It's not a panacea" he said that, particularly with Project Homeless Connect, "A lot of people got involved and that can lead to something good." Emily Hirio, who was speaking at the time, responded to applause that "It needs to benefit people, not just make us feel good about ourselves."

After three solid hours of public comment, most of it in the same vein, agency staff agency staff had the chance to respond, though Daly continued to question them in detail. Darius Kayhan, from the DHS, complained that federal policy was moving aggressively toward a housing-oriented model, forcing the city to seriously look at the mix of services it offers with that money. Daly questioned Kayhan aggressively, pointing out that although a higher allowance for spending on housing was bitterly opposed by public input the DHS went through with the change anyway. "Having public input and not acting on that public input," Daly said, "in my opinion that's worse than having no process at all." Kayhan responded that he that thought federal fundingg was very much at risk, saying "I would hope that we don't make that change, because that's how serious I think it is."

Daly also questioned Barbara Garcia of DPH, asking how Project Homeless Conect had been formulated, and accusing it of being a "top down" proposal. Though Garcia admitted that the idea had come straight from the mayor, she said "When creative ideas come up we shouldn't shut the door on them." That answer wasn't good enough for Daly, who responded "Next time you start a project that flies in the face of work that my office and the committee has already done, you might want to give me a call."

After the dust had settled, little had been decided. Daly and Kayhan accused each other of drawing "lines in the sand" between city government and the non-profit community. Although everyone shook hands when the hearing closed, it is clear that the battle to define the city's approach to homelessness is far from over.